introduction - cisco ·...

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of Cisco CTI Object Server (CTI OS) and lists the tasks that a CTI OSsystem manager must perform:

• Overview of CTI OS, page 1

• System Manager Responsibilities, page 4

• System Requirements, page 4

• Silent monitoring, page 5

Overview of CTI OSThe CTI OS is the next generation customer contact integration platform from Cisco. CTI OS combines apowerful, feature-rich server and an object-oriented software development toolkit to enable rapid developmentand deployment of complex CTI applications. Together, the Cisco CTI Server Interface, CTI OS Server, and

CTI OS System Manager Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise & Hosted Release 10.0(x) 1

CTI OS Client Interface Library (CIL) create a high performance, scalable, fault-tolerant three-tiered CTIarchitecture, as illustrated in following figure.

Figure 1: CTI OS Three-Tiered Architecture Topology

The CTI OS application architecture employs three tiers:

• The CIL is the first tier, providing an application-level interface to developers.

• The CTI OS Server is the second tier, providing the bulk of the event and request processing and enablingthe object services of the CTI OS system.

• The Cisco CTI Server is the third tier, providing the event source and the back-end handling of telephonyrequests.

Advantages of CTI OS as Interface to Unified ICM EnterpriseCTI OS brings several major advances to developing custom CTI integration solutions. The CIL provides anobject-oriented and event-driven Application Programming Interface (API), while the CTI OS Server doesthe heavy-lifting of the CTI integration: updating call context information, determining which buttons to enableon softphones, providing easy access to supervisor features, and automatically recovering from failoverscenarios.

The key advantages of CTI OS include:

• Rapid integration. Developing CTI applications with CTI OS is significantly easier and faster than anypreviously available Cisco CTI integration platform. The same object-oriented interface is used acrossprogramming languages, enabling rapid integrations in C++, Visual Basic, .NET, Java, or anyMicrosoftCOM-compliant container environment.

CTI OS System Manager Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise & Hosted Release 10.0(x)2

IntroductionAdvantages of CTI OS as Interface to Unified ICM Enterprise

The inclusion of the .NET toolkit allows for custom applications to be written in C#,VB.NET, or any other CLR-compliant language. By starting with the code for the .NETsample, the CTI Toolkit Combo Desktop developers can quickly customize the codewithout having to start from scratch.

Note

CTI OS enables developers to create a screen-pop application in as little as five minutes. The onlycustom-development effort required is within the homegrown application to which CTI is being added.

• Complex solutions made simple. CTI OS enables complex server-to-server integrations and multipleagent monitoring-type applications. The CIL provides a single object-oriented interface that you canuse in two modes: agent mode and monitor mode. For more information about these two modes, seeCTI OS Developer Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise & Hosted. This documentis available at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/custcosw/ps14/products_programming_reference_guides_list.html.

• Fault tolerant. CTI OS is built upon the Unified ICM Node Manager fault-tolerance platform, whichautomatically detects process failure and restarts the process, enabling work to continue. Upon recoveryfrom a failure, CTI OS initiates a complete, system-wide snapshot of all agents, calls, and supervisorsand propagates updates to all client-side objects.

Key Benefits of CTI OS for CTI Application DevelopersThe CTI OS CIL provides programmers with the tools required to rapidly develop high-quality CTI-enabledapplications, taking advantage of the rich features of the CTI OS Server. Every feature of CTI OSwas designedwith ease of integration in mind, to remove the traditional barriers to entry for CTI integrations:

• Object-oriented interactions. CTI OS provides an object-oriented CTI interface by defining objectsfor all call center interactions. Programmers interact directly with Session, Agent, SkillGroup, and Callobjects to perform all functions. CIL objects are thin proxies for the server-side objects, where all the'heavy-lifting' is done. The Session object manages all objects within the CIL. A UniqueObjectIDidentifies each object. Programmers can access an object by its UniqueObjectID or by iterating throughthe object collections.

• Connection and sessionmanagement. The CTI OSCIL provides out-of-the-box connection and sessionmanagement with the CTI OS Server, hiding all of the details of the TCP/IP sockets connection. TheCIL also provides out-of-the-box failover recovery. Upon recovery from a failure, the CIL automaticallyreconnects to another CTI OS Server (or reconnects to the same CTI OS Server after restart), reestablishesthe session, and recovers all objects for that session.

• All parameters are key-value pairs. The CTI OS CIL provides helper classes to treat all event andrequest parameters as simply a set of key-value pairs. All properties on the CTI OS objects are accessibleby name via a simple Value = GetValue(“key”) mechanism. Client programmers can add values of anytype to the CTI OS Arguments structure using the enumerated CTI OS keywords or their own stringkeywords (for example, AddItem[“DialedNumber”, “1234”]). This provides for future enhancement ofthe interface without requiring any changes to the method signatures.

• Simple event subscription model. The CTI OS CIL implements a publisher-subscriber design patternto enable easy subscription to event interfaces. Programmers can subscribe to the event interface thatsuits their needs, or use the AllInOne interface to subscribe to all events. Subclassable event adapter


IntroductionKey Benefits of CTI OS for CTI Application Developers

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/custcosw/ps14/products_programming_reference_guides_list.html

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/custcosw/ps14/products_programming_reference_guides_list.html

classes enable programmers to subscribe to event interfaces and only add minimal custom code for theevents they use, and no code at all for events they do not use.

System Manager ResponsibilitiesThe remainder of this document provides step-by-step procedures for the tasks a systemmanager must performto set up and configure CTI OS. These tasks include:

• Installing CTI OS Server.

• InstallingCTI Toolkit Agent Desktop, IPCC Supervisor Desktop, Tools, Documentation, Win32 SDK,Java SDK, and .NET SDK.

You can skip the procedures discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 if you already have CTI OS Release 8.5(3) orthe later Service Releases (SRs) installed on your system.

Note

• Enabling CTI OS security.

• Using the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) to configure the required CTI OS registry keys.

• Starting CTI OS and its associated processes from Unified CCE Service Control.

You must have administrator privileges to perform the procedures discussed in this manual.Note

Related Topics

CTI OS Server installationCTI Toolkit Desktop Client installationCTI OS Silent Monitor installation and configurationCTI OS securityCTI OS configurationStartup Shutdown and Failover

System RequirementsSee the Design Guide for a quick reference on configuration limits and scalability constraints. For moreinformation on system requirements, seeVirtualization for Unified CCE and the Compatibility Matrix forUnified CCE pages on the DocWiki,

Set User PrivilegesOn Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems, users must have privileges that enables them to run legacyapplications and have read/write access to the Cisco registry keys that the desktop applications use. To set


IntroductionSystem Manager Responsibilities

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/custcosw/ps1844/products_implementation_design_guides_list.html

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Virtualization_for_Unified_CCE

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Compatibility_Matrix_for_Unified_CCE


user privileges to enable users to run CTI OS Agent Desktop and CTI OS Supervisor Desktop for IPCC, anadministrator must perform the following steps.

Procedure

Step 1 On the Microsoft Windows Start Menu, select Start > Run.Step 2 Type in regedt32 and click OK.

The Microsoft Windows Registry Editor window appears.

Step 3 Go to the following registry location:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cisco Systems, Inc.\CTI Desktop\Ctios

Step 4 Select Security > Permissions.A Permissions dialog box appears.

Step 5 If you are adding a new user, perform the following steps.a) Click Add.

A Select Users dialog box appears.

b) Select the user to be added from the list in the top half of the Select Users dialog box.c) Click Add, then click OK.

You return to the Permissions dialog box; the user you just added is now on the list.

Step 6 Click the user whose privileges you want to set.Step 7 Set the Full Control permissions for this user to Allow.Step 8 Click Apply.Step 9 Click OK.Step 10 Exit Registry Editor.

Silent monitoringSilent monitoring is a feature that allows a supervisor to eavesdrop on a conversation between an agent anda customer without allowing the agent to detect the monitoring session. Silent monitoring functionality canbe provided by Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) or CTI OS.

You can configure each CTI OS Server for either Unified CM-based or CTI OS-based silent monitoring.

Silent Monitor Differences Between Unified CM and CTI OSBesides the differences in implementation, CTI OS and Unified CM also differ in when they can be invokedand when they end.


IntroductionSilent monitoring

Table 1: Unified CM-Based and CTI OS-Based Silent Monitor Differences

CTI OS-Based silent monitorUnified CM-Based silent monitor

The supervisor can silent monitor an agent in anystate as long as the agent is logged in.

The supervisor can only silent monitor an agent whois actively talking in a call.

Supervisor can silent monitor an agent on hold.Supervisor cannot silent monitor an agent on hold.

When agent consults, supervisor automatically hearsconsult call.

When agent consults, supervisor must stop silentmonitoring held call and start silent monitoringconference.

Supervisor can silent monitor in any state.Supervisor can only silent monitor in Not Ready state.

Supervisor can barge in while silent monitoring.Supervisor must stop silent monitoring before bargingin.

When call ends, supervisor automatically silentlymonitors the next call as long as the supervisor hasnot stopped silent monitoring.

When the call that is being silent monitored ends, thesilent monitor call ends. The supervisor must restartsilent monitor after the agent answers another call.

Unified CM-Based Silent MonitoringUnified CM-based silent monitor allows a supervisor to listen in on agent calls in UCCE call centers.Supervisors can send silent monitor requests to monitor agents without the agent being aware of anymonitoring


IntroductionUnified CM-Based Silent Monitoring

activity. When the Unified CM-based approach is adopted for silent monitoring, the agent phone is used tomix the media streams of the agent call. The mix is then sent to the supervisor phone.

Figure 2: Unified CM-Based Silent Monitor

Unified CM Silent Monitor AdvantagesUnified CM-based silent monitor provides the following advantages:

• No NIC card restrictions.

• Any 7.x or later version of any desktop (C++, Java, .Net, Siebel) can be silent monitored provided theagent is not a mobile agent.

• Silent monitor is implemented via a call, therefore, the silent monitor call is carried on the voice LAN.With CTI OS silent monitor, the silent monitor stream is carried on the data LAN.

• Silent monitor calls are reported as agent-to-agent calls for supervisors. With CTI OS silent monitor,the time the supervisor spends silent monitoring is not tracked.

Unified Communications Manager Silent Monitor Limitations and RestrictionsThe following items prevent the use of Unified Communications Manager-based silent monitor:

• Agents using phones without a Built-In Bridge (BIB). See the Unified CCE Compatibility Matrix for alist of supported phones.

• Agents using Cisco IP Communicator


IntroductionUnified CM-Based Silent Monitoring


• Supervisors using 7.1(x) or earlier desktops

• Silent monitoring SRTP streams is not supported

• Mobile agents cannot use this method of silent monitoring

CTI OS-Based Silent MonitoringCTI OS-based silent monitor allows a supervisor to listen in on agent calls in UCCE call centers that use CTIOS. Supervisors can send silent monitor requests to agent desktops without the agent being aware of anymonitoring activity. Voice packets sent to and received by the monitored agent's IP desk phone are capturedfrom the network and sent to the supervisor silent monitor service connected to the supervisor desktop. Atthe supervisor silent monitor service, these voice packets are decoded and played on the supervisor systemsound card.

Figure 3: CTI OS-Based Silent Monitor

Silent monitor does not capture and translate DTMF digits that are selected on the CTI OS Agent Desktopor on agent desk phones.

Note

For the agent using the 7941, 7961, 7970, and 7971 phones, you must configure these devices on theUnified CM Administration web page with the “Span to PC Port”, “PC Voice VLAN Access” and the “PCPort” enabled. By default, the “Span to PC Port” is disabled and the “PC Voice VLAN Access” and the“PC Port” are enabled.

Note


IntroductionCTI OS-Based Silent Monitoring

Network Topology for Silent Monitoring

Unified CM-Based Silent MonitoringThe following figure shows the network components and protocols involved in a Unified CM-based callmonitoring session.

Figure 4: Unified CM-Based Silent Monitoring Network Topology


IntroductionNetwork Topology for Silent Monitoring

CTI OS-Based Silent MonitoringThe necessary network topology for non-mobile UCCE agents is shown in the following figure:

Figure 5: CTI OS-Based Silent Monitor Network Topology

Agents in this topologymay have either an IP hardphone or IP Communicator. (The supervisor in this topologymust have an IP hardphone. IP Communicator is not an option.) If the agent has an IP desk phone, it musthave an agent desktop PC connected to the second IP port. If the agent has IP Communicator, you must installit on the same machine as the agent desktop.

You must install a CTI OS-based desktop application that implements the CTI OS silent monitor feature onthe agent desktop and supervisor desktop PCs. In addition, the components needed for an agent to be silentlymonitored are now automatically installed when the agent desktop is installed and those needed for a supervisorto do the silent monitoring are automatically installed when the UCCE Supervisor Desktop is installed.

Related Topics

CTI Toolkit Desktop Client installation



Silent Monitoring and Citrix TopologyYou can monitor UCCE agents using Citrix clients by installing silent monitor services on the computersrunning the agent and supervisor Citrix clients. You must deploy the agent Citrix client behind the agent IPphone. The supervisor Citrix client must have a sound card. The necessary network topology is as follows.

Figure 6: Silent Monitoring and Citrix Topology

Related Topics

Silent monitor service deployments

Silent Monitoring and Mobile Agent TopologyYou can also silently monitor mobile agents. To do this, you must manually deploy a standalone silent monitorserver. This silent monitor server gains access to mobile agent voice traffic through a SPAN port that youconfigure to send all traffic to and from the agent gateway to the silent monitor server. The silent monitorserver then filters and forwards voice traffic for the selected agent to the supervisor silent monitor server.

The necessary network topology is as follows.

Figure 7: Silent Monitoring and Mobile Agent Topology



Related Topics

Silent monitor service deployments

Calculation of Additional Needed BandwidthSilent monitoring of an agent consumes almost the same network bandwidth as an additional voice call. If asingle agent requires bandwidth for one voice call, then the same agent being silent monitored requiresbandwidth for two concurrent voice calls.

For example, assume the following:

• You have 100 concurrent agents on your network.

• Up to 20% of the agents are monitored at any given time.

In this case, plan for network capacity for 100 + (20% of 100) concurrent calls, or 120 concurrent calls.

To calculate the total network bandwidth required for your call load, you would then multiply this number ofcalls by the per-call bandwidth figure for your particular codec and network protocol.

For example, the table on the Cisco Voice Over IP-Per Call Bandwidth Consumption website lists the per-callbandwidth on the G.711 codec (for a call with the default voice payload size) over Ethernet as 87.2 Kbps.You multiply this 87.2 Kbps by 120 calls to obtain the total required network bandwidth.

For more information about per-call bandwidths for various codecs and network protocols, see the CiscoVoice Over IP-Per Call Bandwidth Consumption website at

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk652/tk698/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094ae2.shtml.

For more information about calculating bandwidth, see the Cisco Voice Codec Bandwidth Calculator at http://tools.cisco.com/Support/VBC/jsp/Codec_Calc1.jsp.



http://www.cisco.com/en/us/tech/tk652/tk698/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094ae2.shtml

https://tools.cisco.com/Support/VBC/do/CodecCalc1.do

https://tools.cisco.com/Support/VBC/do/CodecCalc1.do

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